In recent years publications have shown that you need to avoid high temperature cooking. This will prevent diseases, and this will also prevent premature aging. Cooking at high temperatures creates carcinogens and advanced glycemic end products (AGE’s). Both substances are harmful to our health. Carcinogens are mutagens that attack the DNA of your cells which increases a risk of developing cancer. AGE’s crosslink proteins like antibodies, hormones, enzymes, collagen, neurotransmitters and hemoglobin. When crosslinking like this has occurred, cells are not functioning optimally.

In the case of diabetes the hemoglobin, which is expressed as percentage of glycated hemoglobin, is rising. This leads to damage of hemoglobin by AGE’s. Above a certain normal value complications of diabetes occur, like blindness or amputations of limbs because of circulatory problems. Diabetics also can get excruciating pains from damage to nerves (neuropathies) and heart attacks. In the last few years it has become evident that the old “normal” glycated hemoglobin values recommended to patients were too high. This was the reason why complications still occurred when the patients’ hemoglobin A1C values were within the normal range.

New hemoglobin A1C ranges

At the 22nd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine In Las Vegas (Dec. 10-14, 2014) Dr. Piliszek stated that the normal range for hemoglobin A1C is skewed in the medical literature. It should be: 3.8% to 4.9%. This is very important to know for diabetics and any caregiver who looks after diabetic patients. If you are satisfied with a hemoglobin A1C of 6.0 as still being “normal”, the diabetic patient has the risk of dying prematurely of a heart attack or a stroke. According to the new guidelines even a patient whose hemoglobin A1C is 5.5 has diabetes with the new guidelines and needs to be treated aggressively to prevent complications that occur due to diabetes. Conventional guidelines would have considered this patient to be normal. With these new guidelines there won’t be complications as long as the hemoglobin A1C stays in this range.

In a way diabetes is a special case of AGE’s accumulation leading to glycosylated hemoglobin. The hemoglobin A1C value measurement indicates how advanced the AGE’s accumulation is.

What can we do to lower our exposure to AGE’s?

Here is a list of more than 500 common foods. Keep in mind that less than about 700-kilo units/serving is a low glycation product, 700 to 5000 is a medium glycation product and above 5000 would be a high glycation product.

You can tell by comparing methods of preparing various meats how different the glycation product is. You want to avoid broiling, also you will want to poach eggs at medium heat or panfry foods at low heat to keep the glycation product of our food in the low to medium range.

Is preparing food in a microwave oven safe?

We have been indoctrinated that microwave cooking would be gentle and harmless to the food. Newer research has shown that this is not the case! Microwaves produce heterocyclic amines (HCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This is in addition to advanced glycation end products (AGEs), known as glycotoxins. All of them can damage your cells and can cause cancer. There were many investigations of microwave cooking in Russia and Switzerland that describe the problems.

The result of these studies was that microwaving food produced noxious substances that were carcinogenic, contained free radicals and changed blood composition in the volunteers ingesting microwaved foods. There was a leukocytosis (too many white blood cells); decreased immune cells (lymphocytes) and increased cholesterol levels just from consuming microwaved foods. The researchers concluded that microwaved food contained noxious components to which the body reacted. For years the microwave oven industry and various government agencies in Europe and North America have refuted this kind of information. Nevertheless, many people started to abandon their microwave oven based on this newer research.

Other cooking techniques causing AGE’s

Overcooking foods can also cause massive damage to the genes. Women exposed to AGE’s are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Their outlook is much worse than for women without exposure to AGE’s.

High temperature cooking causes inflammation, which in turn stimulates glycation of the body’s proteins. As I mentioned before, broiling, baking, grilling or panfrying at high heat will do exactly that. But broiling, roasting, frying and searing also generate AGE’s. Barbecuing belongs to the high temperature cooking methods as well. Unfortunately many of these methods are common in restaurant cooking. You are much better off to prepare your own meals at home where you have control over how many AGE’s you generate when you prepare your food.

Avoid high temperature cooking with these methods

If you don’t have a slow cooker, now is a good time to get one. The advantage of this method is that you can prepare dinner at breakfast time. If you choose to cook a stew, put your beef or bison in together with onions and vegetables in the morning, and let it cook at low heat. When you come home for dinner in the evening, you can smell when you open the door that dinner is ready. The meat is soft and tasty.

Alternatively, if you prepare meat or poultry, you may want to cook the meat at low heat in the oven until it is through. You can boil eggs or poach them. Cooking salmon or other fish works well with low- heat cooking in the oven. Alternatively steaming produces very good results.

Supplements, if you can’t avoidhigh temperature cooking

Fortunately for those who depend on restaurant foods, there are supplements that have shown to reduce AGE’s significantly. I am describing them in the following and what studies have shown that they are effective. Also, by reducing sugar and starchy foods, particularly processed foods, you can significantly reduce AGE’s in your diet.

1. Chlorophyllin

Chlorophyllin has been known for many years to be an anti-carcinogenic and antimutagenic. 100 mg taken with the heaviest meal will protect you to a large extent from AGE’s and carcinogens in food that has been cooked too hot.

2. Indole-3-carbinol

Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli) contain the substance indole-3-carbinol. In mouse experiments it was suppressing carcinogens by up to 98%. It prevented DNA damage by carcinogens in rats up to 95%.

The dosage for humans is 200 mg twice per day, and it has no side effects.

3. Carnosine

Carnosine consists of two amino acids, L-histidine and beta-alanine. It has anti-AGE’s effects. Because of the carnosine enzyme, which degrades carnosine, it requires a fairly high dose of 500 mg twice per day to get a meaningful blood level.

Diabetics are most in need of protection from AGE’s. Prolonged elevation of blood sugars leads to glycation end products as sugar interacts with protein in the body. Carnosine interferes with this AGE’s formation.

In the past the dosage was too low(only 50 mg per day); newer studies established that for a sustained blood level you need 500 MG twice per day.

4. Benfotiamine

This is another supplement that is of value in preventing damage from AGE’s.

5. Pyridoxal-5-phosphate

This is a metabolite of vitamin B6. It is also useful to counter AGE’s. Dr. Sahelian is of the opinion that for most patients supplementation with multiple vitamins (which includes vitamin B6) is sufficient to have protection through pyridoxal-5-phosphate as vitamin B6 gets easily metabolized into it.

Avoid High Temperature Cooking

Conclusion

Advanced glycemic end products (AGE’s) and mutagens from overheating the food we eat is a significant problem. Conditions like heart attacks, strokes and many cancers can have their root in this. The key is to reduce AGE’s by eating less sugar and starchy foods. A Mediterranean diet is a balanced diet that will help to reduce AGE’s in your diet. Besides that we need to watch that we do not overuse alcohol. It is important that we avoid eating fast foods and restaurant foods. Broiled food, baked items, as well as grilled or pan-fried foods contain AGE’s due to the high heat exposure during . Even microwaving food can produce AGE’s and mutagens in food.

What to do instead

Instead, we need to use a slow cooker, poach eggs at medium heat or panfry food at low heat to keep the glycation products of our food in the low to medium range. Once you see the black char marks on meats or a heavy, dark brown surface, you know, that the exposure to high heat has been too much. Overcooking food presents a problem for your health. If we cannot avoid this exposure, we can resort to several supplements that offer us some relief from AGE’s. It makes sense to use those, if we cannot avoid eating out, and we should take them with the heaviest meal of the day.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) form through cooking food at high temperatures. Sugar molecules react with proteins crosslinking them and changing how they function. It prevents proteins from doing their job. Glycation also causes inflammation, which damages mitochondria, the power packages inside cells that provide the body with energy. Overall AGEs lead to premature aging, which comes from the toxic protein reactions. Advanced glycation end products accumulate as glycated proteins in the tissues of the body. This leads to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Effect of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on the body

The toxic effects of AGEs frequently occur in the following tissues.

The accumulation of AGEs can cause kidney disease and kidney failure (renal failure). In this case the kidneys no longer filter the blood to excrete waste. Hemodialysis may be necessary.

AGEs damager joint cartilage, so it can no longer handle stress and joint stiffness sets in. AGEs are now recognized as a major cause of osteoarthritis.

Cross-linked proteins from AGEs can cause Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Damaged proteins accumulate in brain cells that disable and kill them eventually.

Glycation of LDL particles is an important cause of increasing the plaque formation in arteries by LDL. Glycated LDL is much more susceptible to oxidation than regular LDL. Oxidized LDL causes damage to the lining of the arteries and destroys endothelial nitric oxide synthase. This is a critical enzyme that maintains vasodilatation and blood flow. When glycation of LDL has set in, LDL receptors can no longer recognize it. This means that glycated LDL continues to circulate in the bloodstream where it contributes to the atherosclerotic process. It forms a plaque which becomes a reason for heart attacks and strokes. Glycation of LDL is particularly common in patients with diabetes.

Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate

Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate is a metabolite of vitamin B6. It is similar to benfotiamine in that it counters glycation and dissolves deposited AGEs. It is particularly useful to stop fat and protein glycation. In diabetic patients lipid glycation is often a problem as these authors have shown. Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate traps glucose breakdown products before they become part of glycation reactions.

Carnosine

Carnosine is a dipeptide, made up of the amino acids histidine and beta-alanine. It is found in higher concentration in muscle and brain tissue. Carnosine scavenges for free radicals and prevents AGE formation. This prevents both lipid glycation and protein glycation. This publication states that carnosine can play a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Carnosine prevents protein crosslinking. The result is that tangled protein clumps cannot accumulate and cause Alzheimer’s disease.

Carnosine also reduces blood lipid levels and stabilizes atherosclerotic plaques. This reduces the risk of plaque rupture, which can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Luteolin

Many plants contain luteolin, which is a bioflavonoid. It has anti-inflammatory effects and works by suppressing the master inflammatory complex, called NF-kB. NF-kB triggers the production of multiple cytokines and is the cause of many cancers, chronic diseases, autoimmune diseases and septic shock. Kotanidou et al. did an experiment where they injected mice with Salmonella enteritis toxin, either with or without luteolin protection. Without luteolin only 4.1% of the mice survived on day 7. With luteolin protection 48% were alive on day 7.

Luteolin has been shown to be effective as an anti-inflammatory in the brain, the blood vessel lining, intestines, skin, lungs, bone and gums.

All these four supplements are available in the health food store. They work together and would be recommendable in diabetic patients where glycation is most prominent. But these supplements are also useful for older people who want to slow down the aging process in general.

Nutrients to slow down mitochondrial aging

Glycation causes mitochondrial deterioration and dysfunction. It accelerates aging in every aspect. AGEs (advanced glycation end products) crosslink proteins, lipids, but also damage enzymes and DNA. Glycation causes a slow down of mitochondrial energy production. The end result is a lack of energy and slower repair processes, which all depend on mitochondrial energy production. The following supplements have shown some merit in reversing this process.

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)

PPQ is a supplement that is known to produce new mitochondria in cells. This helps the energy metabolism of aging cells to recover.

Taurine

Taurine is an amino acid that occurs abundantly in heart and skeletal muscles cells, brain cells and cells of the retina. These are areas in the body with high metabolic rates that can burn out mitochondria. Taurine regulates enzymes in mitochondria that harvest energy from food substances. In patients who experience accelerated aging, a lack of taurine can produce an energy crisis. But supplementation with taurine can rescue the cells by reducing oxidative stress and restoring the function of mitochondria in cells that are aging. Brain cells were putting out new shoots, called neurites when taurine was given as a supplement. This helps to improve brain connection, and preserves memory and cognition.

R-lipoic acid

R-lipoic acid helps to extract energy from foods and support mitochondrial function. When R-lipoic acid is given to aging animals, their metabolic function improves, the mitochondria become healthier and there are less oxidative stress-inducing byproducts. It protects their liver, heart and brain cells from oxidative stress in their mitochondria. It is becoming known as an energy-giving supplement.

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs)

Conclusion

Sugar overconsumption and overcooking food cause advanced glycation end products (AGEs) through lipid and proteins cross-linking. This leads to premature loss of organ function. The mitochondria are also slowed down. This creates premature aging. Fortunately there are a few supplements like benfotiamine, pyridoxal 5’-phosphate, carnosine and luteolin. They protect against glycation. Mitochondria can also be protected by PPQ, taurine and R-lipoic acid. Although we cannot stop the aging process, avoiding sugar and stopping to consume overcooked food, such as barbecued meats and deep fried food is a sensible step in prevention. Aging can slow down significantly with this approach and some supplements.